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Nurburgring
- The Ring - The Green Hell |
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The Nurburgring, simply known as
"The Ring" by enthusiasts, is a motorsport
race track in Nürburg, Germany. It was built in the 1920s around
the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel, which is
about 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Cologne, and 120 kilometres (75 mi)
northwest of Frankfurt. Nicknamed The Green Hell by Jackie
Stewart, it is widely considered the toughest, most dangerous and most
demanding purpose-built race track in the world.
Originally, the track featured four track configurations: the 28.265 kilometres
(17.563 miles) long Gesamtstrecke ("Whole Course"), which in
turn consisted of the 22.810 km (14.173 mi) Nordschleife ("Northern
Loop"), and the 7.747 km (4.814 mi) Südschleife ("Southern
Loop"). There also was a 2.281 km (1.417 mi) warm-up loop called
Zielschleife ("Finish Loop") or better known as Betonschleife,
around the pit area.[1] Between 1982 and 1983 the start-finish area was
demolished to create a new GP-Strecke, and this is currently used for
all major and international racing events. However, the Nordschleife
is still in use. |
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| HISTORY |
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1927–1939: "Nürburg-Ring"
The track was completed in spring of 1927, and the ADAC Eifelrennen races
were continued there. The first World Cycling Championship race took place
on 1927-06-19, and the first German Grand Prix a month later. In addition,
the track was opened to the public in the evenings and at weekends, as
a one-way toll road. The Gesamtstrecke consisted of 174 bends (prior to
1971 changes), and was 8 to 9 metres (26 to 30 ft) in width on average.
In 1939 the full Ring was used for the last time in major racing events,
as future Grands Prix would be held only on the Nordschleife. Motorcycles
and minor races mainly used the shorter and safer Südschleife. Many
memorable pre-war races took place at the circuit, featuring the talents
of early Ringmeister (Ringmasters) such as Rudolf Caracciola, Tazio Nuvolari
and Bernd Rosemeyer. |
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1947–1970: The Green
Hell
By the late 1960s, the Nordschleife and many other tracks were becoming
increasingly dangerous for the latest generation of F1 cars. In 1967,
a chicane was added before the start/finish straight, called Hohenrain,
in order to reduce speeds at the pit lane entry. In 1970, after the fatal
crash of Piers Courage at Zandvoort, the F1 drivers decided at the French
Grand Prix to boycott the Ring unless major changes were made, like they
did at Spa the year before. The changes were not possible on short notice,
and the German GP was moved to the Hockenheimring which already had been
modified. |
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In 1980, the German motorcycle Grand
Prix was held for the last time on the old Ring, moving also permanently
to Hockenheim. A year later, in 1981, work began on a 4.5 km (2.8 miles)
long new circuit which was built on and around the old pits area. At the
same time, a bypass shortened the Nordschleife to 20,832 m (12.947 mi),
and with an additional small pit lane, this version was used for races
in 1983, e.g. the 1000km Nurburgring endurance race, while construction
work was going on nearby.
In training for that race, the late Stefan Bellof set the all-time
lap record for the 20.8 km (12.9 mi) Nordschleife in his Porsche 956,
which is still unbeaten at 6:11.13, or over 200 km/h (120 mph) in average
- partially because no major racing has taken place there since 1984.
The former Südschleife had not been modified in 1970/71 and was abandoned
a few years later in favour of the improved Nordschleife.
It is now mostly gone (in part due to the construction of the new circuit)
or converted to a normal public road, but since 2005 a vintage car event
is hosted on the old track layout, including part of the parking area. |
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1984: The new Grand Prix track
The new Nurburgring was completed in 1984 and called GP-Strecke.
It was built to meet the highest safety standards, but was considered
in character a mere shadow of its older sibling. Some fans, who had to
sit much further away from the track, called it Eifelring, Ersatzring,
Green Party Ring or similar, believing it did not deserve to be called
Nurburgring.
Besides other major international events, it has seen the brief return
of Formula One to the 'Ring, as the 1984 European Grand Prix was held
at the track, followed by the 1985 German Grand Prix; the only time thus
far that the "new" Nurburgring has hosted its country's
race. As F1 did not stay, other events were the highlights at new the
Ring, 1000km Nurburgring, DTM, motorcycles, and rather new type of
events, like Truck Racing, Vintage car racing at the AvD "Oldtimer
Grand Prix", and even the "Rock am Ring" concerts.
Several touring car series are still competing on the Nordschleife,
using either only the simple 20.8 km (12.9 mi) version with its separate
small pit lane, or a combined 24.4 km (15.2 mi) long track that uses a
part of the modern F1 track plus its huge pit facilities.
Entry level of competition is a regularity test (GLP) for road legal cars.
Two racing series (RCN/CHC
and VLN)
compete
on 15 Saturdays each year, for several hours.
The annual highlight is the 24 Hours Nurburgring
weekend, held usually in mid-June, featuring 220 cars (from small 100
hp (75 kW) cars to 700 hp (520 kW) Turbo Porsches or 500 hp (370 kW) factory
race cars built by BMW, Opel, Audi, Mercedes-Benz), over 700 drivers (amateurs
and professionals) and up to 290,000 spectators. |
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The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the
venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance
race. It is also home to the 25 Hours of Spa, run by the Uniroyal Fun
Cup. It is considered to be one of the most challenging race tracks in
the world, mainly due to its fast, hilly and twisty nature. Spa is a favourite
circuit of many racing drivers and fans.
Designed by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the original
15 km (9.3 mile) triangle-shaped course used public roads between the
Belgian towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. The Belgian
Grand Prix was held at Spa-Francorchamps for the first
time in 1924.
Back then, the Belgians took pride in having a very fast circuit, and
to improve average speeds, the former slow uphill U-turn at the bottom
of the Eau Rouge creek valley, called the Ancienne Douane, was cut short
with a faster sweep straight up the hill, called the Raidillon. Until
2000, it was possible to travel over the race track when it was still
a public road. At Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the
famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the
old road and U-turn behind the grand stands, rejoining the race track
at the bottom of Eau Rouge.
The old race track continued after Les Combes towards
Burnenville, passing this village in a fast right hand sweep. Near Malmedy,
the Masta straight begins, which is only interrupted
by the fast Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving
at the town of Stavelot. |
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New Layout
Over the years, the Spa course has been modified several times. The biggest
change saw the circuit being shortened from 14 km (8.7 miles)
to 7 km (4.35 miles) in 1979. Like its predecessor the new layout
still is a fast and hilly route through the Ardennes where speeds in excess
of 330 km/h (205 mph) can be reached. Since inception,
the place has been famous for its unpredictable weather. Frequently drivers
are confronted with one part of the course being clear and bright while
another stretch is rainy and slippery. |
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The most famous part of the circuit is
the Eau Rouge / Raidillon combination. Having negotiated
the La Source hairpin, drivers race down a straight to the point where
the track crosses the Eau Rouge stream for the first time, before being
launched steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left collection of
corners with a blind summit. Properly speaking, the Eau Rouge corner is
only the left-hander at the bottom. The following right-hander that leads
steeply uphill, which was introduced in 1939 to shortcut the original
hairpin "Ancienne Douane", is called "Raidillon"
(fr:Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge). The corner requires a large amount of skill
from the driver to negotiate well and the long straight ahead often produces
good overtaking opportunities for the best drivers at the Les Combes corner. |
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The challenge for drivers has always
been to take Eau Rouge-Raidillon flat out. Regular touring cars can take
the corner at 160–180 km/h, Formula One at over 300 km/h.
This is due to the huge amount of downforce on the cars. World Champion
Jacques Villeneuve once spoke of the effects of the downforces (in 1996,
when they were much less than they are today) saying that to get through
the corner they have to go faster as the faster the car is going the more
downward force there is, thus explaining the phenomenon of Eau Rouge flat
out. The years between 1989 and 1993 were arguably the last period where
only the most able drivers were able to take the corner flat out, with
those of lesser ability having to lift. Taking the corner flat out in
a Formula One car is now the norm, thanks to modifications made to the
circuit, and the high downforce of modern Formula One cars. |
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Redevelopment for 2007 season
With a new financial backer, the renovation started on November 6, 2006
and finished in May 2007, costing around €19 million.
The F1 circus returned to Spa for 2007, with, once again, a slightly changed
track layout. The Bus Stop chicane towards the end of
the lap will move back towards Blanchimont and the La
Source hairpin will move forwards more, to allow more space for
the new pit/paddock complex. This will mean a longer start/finish straight.
The new entrance to the pits has drawn almost paddock-wide criticism for
being too tight for the entry speed drivers will likely approach it at,
although there were no incidents during the 2007 Grand Prix, and the FIA
have requested that the wall be removed for the 2008 event. |
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The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in
Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Amongst other motor racing events, it
holds the annual Formula One German Grand Prix. Situated in the Rhine
valley, the circuit is almost completely flat, with very little change
in elevation. |
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1930s - 1960s
Hockenheimring was originally built in 1932 using roads
in the forest as an alternative to the Wildpark-Circuit in Karlsruhe,
which became forbidden as a racing circuit by German officials. It was
used for motorcycle racing and was expanded to be used as test track for
Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union in 1936. In 1938 it was renamed the Kurpfalzring
and that name was used until 1947. After the war, Grand Prix motorcycle
racing events were held, with the German motorcycle Grand Prix alternating
between Hockenheim and other tracks.
The original circuit was almost eight kilometres long
and consisted of two long straights with a long "Eastern" corner
in the forest and a U-turn inside Hockenheim joining them together. |
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1960s - 2000s
In 1965, when the new Autobahn A 6 separated the village from the main
part of the track, a new version of Hockenheim circuit was built, with
the "Motodrom" stadium section. After Jim Clark
was killed in 1968 in a Formula 2 racing accident, two chicanes and an
Armco barrier were added. A small memorial was placed near the first chicane,
at the site of his accident. In 1980, another chicane was added at the
Ostkurve (east curve), after Patrick Depailler was killed
there.
This version used to be quite large, with a very long, fast section going
through forests essentially consisting of four straights of roughly 1.3
km, separated by a chicane sequence, followed by a more tight and twisty
"stadium" section (so called because of all the grandstands
situated there) named Motodrom. This made setting racing
cars up difficult, as a choice had to be made - whether to run low downforce
to optimise speed through the straights and compromise grip in the stadium
section, or vice-versa. The long track length also meant that the spectators
only got to see the cars go through the stadium for only 44 laps in a
typical Formula 1 race. |
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2000s
In the early 2000s, F1 officials demanded the 6.8 km (4.2 mi) track be
shortened and threatened to discontinue racing there, due to competition
from other tracks such as the EuroSpeedway Lausitz and sites in Asia.
The state government of Baden-Württemberg secured the financing of
the redesign by Hermann Tilke for the 2002 German Grand Prix. The stadium
section remained mostly intact, despite a new surface and a tighter Turn
1 ("Nordkurve"). However, the circuit was dramatically shortened,
with the long, sweeping forest section chopped off in favour of more tight
corners. The old forest section was torn up and replanted with trees.
There was a great deal of criticism of the track redesign, but the tight
hairpin following the very long back straight offers an overtaking possibility.
Lost forever though is the sight of over 20 Formula 1 cars blasting down
the long straights to the chicanes on what was a narrow track, along with
70 years of racing history. Many Formula 1 fans are of the opinion that
the circuit has lost its soul, and that the old track should have remained,
or even that it should be reconstructed, though so far nothing has come
of this.
The track has a seating capacity of 120,000.
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